


Will You Remember Me

by dr_bobanner



Series: As We Grow [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce DID, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Ignoring Incredible Hulk Movie, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Iron Man 3, Pre-Thor: The Dark World, twist on Bruce/Betty story but also sticking close to other phase 1 events
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3874060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_bobanner/pseuds/dr_bobanner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce Banner and Betty Ross never really had an easy happily ever after, learning to live with the Hulk and Bruce's DID. But the lead up to their happy ending was paved with difficulty and pain even before the Hulk. Watch as they grow from confused and hurting children to strong and hopeful adults.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Will You Play with Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU I wrote a year or two ago with my random headcanon of Betty being trans, and a friends theory (that I heard but am not sure was confirmed in canon) that Bruce has Disassociative Identity Disorder as we see with the grey, light green, and dark green Hulk. More will be revealed through the story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1977, young Bruce Banner spends his recesses alone with the few science books his mother left him.

I used to hate school, especially when I started going to public school. It wasn't until Daddy and I moved from our old base that I started going to public school. Before that, Mom homeschooled me. Everyday she let me sit up at the dining room table with my work in my pajamas and she would quiz me on new words and math. After I turned eight, she said I could start reading more big kid books. But when I was in the second grade Mom and Daddy sat me down to talk. They said Mom as sick, she had been for a long time, but she wasn't getting better. She wasn't going to get better, so I had to get ready to say goodbye to Mom when God said it was time for her to go back to him. It wasn't long after that her hair started coming out, so I wanted to give her mine. Daddy started to stay home and would teach me while mom slept. Eventually, Daddy stopped my lessons so we could move.

We moved onto a new base where Daddy was going to be more important, he said. He put me in public school off the base so I could make new friends. I started the third grade with no clue how to talk to other kids. Eventually, they started to talk to me instead. It as really nice, and a lot less stressful for me. After my first week, I started noticing one of the kids in my class. Everyone said he didn't like other kids, he would spend recess in the back of the play field and read science books. Everyone said he was weird, but he didn't really seem like it.

One day, I decided to ask the teacher what his name was. She asked who exactly I was talking about, because "the kid with glasses and curly hair" fit several kids in our class. But once I said the one with the science books, she said his name was Robert. After a couple days, I asked if the teacher would switch my seat so I could sit behind him. He sat in the very front row near the middle, and I was right behind him in the second. A couple days later, I slipped a note onto his desk asking how he was. He ignored it and kept working. So that recess, I followed him out to the field.

"Why do you go all the way out here?"

"Why are you following me?" He plopped down on a sunny patch of grass and squinted up at me through his glasses.

"Because everyone said you don't like other kids, but I want to hear you say it." I sat in front of him, smiling. "My name's Ben, my Dad calls me Benjamin."

I held out my hand to him, a little shocked when he shook it.

"My name's Bruce." I gave him a look, unsure if I had the right kid. The teacher called him Robert, not Bruce.

"Um... Do you ever go by Robert?"

He paled, looking down at his books and almost totally ignoring me for a couple minutes. I sat there, watching him, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. People don't usually get that hung up over a name, it's not usually that bad of a thing. After a bit he looked up at me and shook his head.

"I don't like that name, I like Bruce. That's what mom called me."

I smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I like Bruce too."

The rest of recess he told me all about his books and science and what he'd learned. During class the rest of the day, he let me read one of his books as long as I didn't get caught. It was fascinating, and while I was confused at times, it was still captivating. The world all explained in such specific ways that made more sense than anything I ever heard before. After school got out, I asked if he had any books about medical things, and he said I could come read them while his dad was at work. When we got out of school, Daddy was waiting for me at the front gate, smiling when he saw me and Bruce run up.

"Dad, this is Bruce. Can I got over to his house today?" I asked as I jumped up and down.

"I don't know, will be parents be okay with that?"

I looked at Bruce, not even sure how to answer.

"My dad will be at work until late, he doesn't really care."

Daddy looked from his to me before smiling. He opened the car door and let us hop in.

"How about you call your dad from our place and see if you can spend the night if he'll be home late."

I smiled bright and looked at Bruce, who looked even more excited than I did. The whole way home the two of us talked about the books he had let me read with him at school, and he told me about the medical books he had back at his place. As soon as we got home, we ran inside to my room where we spent the rest of the night making lists of the things we needed to replicate the experiments his books talked about. Eventually, Daddy called us out for dinner and had Bruce call his dad. When he got the okay to stay, Daddy said he would get the extra blankets and pillows to set up a bed for him.

That night, we stayed up as late as we could talking about different things. Eventually, we fell asleep in the middle of all our books and papers, the extra pillows and blankets forgotten in the corner.


	2. I'll Be the Guard Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1980, Bruce and Ben spend their days like most other young boys would do, until Ben reveals something to his friend.

"Dad bought a whole butt load when he picked me up, his way of apologizing for the week he was gone." Bruce explained, spreading out his new collection of Captain America comic books, the vivid colors mesmerizing. I picked up a copy and began thumbing through it, stopping on a picture of Captain America and his girlfriend. She was slender and blond, her shape curvy under her nurse uniform. "I bet she's going to die soon, that always happens to superheroes girlfriends."

"Why? Isn't she a good character?" I looked up in confusion, mentally comparing myself to her.

"Yeah, but if she dies, Captain America will have a new story arc."

I thought it over for a bit, my eleven year old mind unable to make the connection Bruce was explaining. After a while, I just shrugged and continued to read the comic books, leaning against the wall of the tree house. Over the summer, Daddy had gotten closer to Bruce's dad, and said it would be good for him to have a building project with his old man. So whenever I came over, I would see the two of them up in the tree, Bruce holding close to a branch as he watched his dad try and set up the boards. Eventually, Bruce stopped going up with him, and then his dad said we should both do the work since we were the ones who would use it. But we only got to use it when his dad wasn't home. Whenever he got home, I had to leave.

"Do you think Captain America only likes women like her?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know, he probably likes other girls too, it's just that she's the only one he really cares about."

I nodded, setting down the comic and pulling my legs to my chest as I thought. My curly, black hair hung in my eyes, blocking my view of Bruce. Maybe if I had blond hair like Captain America's girlfriend, people would like me more too. I was at an awkward stage, my body gangly and stingy, my curly hair growing faster than Daddy could handle, and my skin growing darker than normal in the summer sun. Bruce looked better, he always did. But I don't think he looked at himself the way I looked at myself. He had dark, curly hair too, but it was always cut really short, and he was white, and he wasn't a total twig. He looked like other boys, but I didn't look like other kids.

"Do I look weird?" I asked, biting my lip as Bruce looked at me in confusion, setting down his comic book.

"Well, um... I don't really think so. You look pretty normal to me."

"Yeah, I mean, I guess... But do I look like other... girls?" I finally stuttered out the words, my eyes pulling away from his as he looked me over again.

"Of course not." He said before the words registered in his mind and he went quiet. Bruce sat for a long time as he looked at me, his lips eventually twitching up into a smile. "You're a lot prettier than other girls."

His smile warmed me from the inside. The acceptance of my sudden confession sent a rush through me. As I opened my mouth to reply, a loud yell called Bruce from his house. Bruce pushed me out of the sight of the window as he yelled back to his father, walking over to the doorway and looking back at me with an apologetic look. We had lost track of time. If his father saw me here after he got home from work, we wouldn't get to see each other for a whole month. The last time it had happened, Bruce wouldn't even talk to me until I was allowed to come over again. He never told me why his dad was like that, but as it got worse I started to figure it out.

I sat there in the tree house for what felt like forever, pressed up against the wall as the sun began to set. After I was convinced I would be stuck up there all night, Bruce popped his head back in, smiling nervously at me.

"Sorry..." He whispered, holding a hand out to me.

We climbed down, quietly watching for his father to come out and catch us as he made our way from the backyard to the street, taking my bike from the neighbors yard. He kept apologizing, asking me if I was really okay, until I reassured him that I wasn't mad at him for his father being an ass. He smiled, nodding before he hugged me tightly.

I raced home, knowing I was late for dinner. Daddy was going to be furious at me, but whenever I told him it was because of Bruce's dad he got all quiet and told me to tell him if he did anything to me or Bruce. Bruce never talked about his dad, he just did as he was told.

* * *

 

Bruce sat at the end of my bed, scribbling away at his notebook as I paged through a science textbook. The room was almost too quiet for me, but Bruce would get like that sometimes. He sat there, writing words and swirls across the page.

"I'm going to talk." I piped up, noticing his eyes leave the page for a moment. "You don't have to say anything, I just want to talk."

He spared a nod.

"I'm scared. And really, really confused right now. I know kind of sprang the girl thing on you the other day, but you're the only person I trust enough to tell. I just want to feel normal, but the way that feels best is as a girl. I want long hair, I want my dad to stop calling me 'sport', I want to wear dresses. You're my best friend, and you're the only person who might know what's wrong with me." I took a breath and closed my eyes. "I want to be called a girls name, and I want your help picking when you feel better."

When I opened my eyes, Bruce was looking at me, a faint smile on his lips. He scooted over and wrapped his arms around me.

"Of course."

 After a minute, he scooted back to his place, continuing to write. I talked to him, talking about all sorts of things, just anything to keep the room from going silent. After a while, it was dinner time. He barely talked at the dinner table, especially under Daddy's watch. Despite having an idea of his living situation, he was still unsure about Bruce. It was frustrating for Daddy to not like my best friend. He was a really good person, and always there for me while Daddy is at work. But that didn't stop Daddy from being worried about what all the science would do to me. He wanted a soldier for a son, someone to joint he family tradition. Fight for my country. Patriotic. Maybe if I actually talked about wanting to wear dresses they wouldn't let me in.


	3. You Took a Polaroid of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1982, Bruce and Ben spend their afternoons teaching each other and getting used to their new lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU I wrote Betty as mixed, which I kind of touched on last chapter. But I wanted to explicity mention that she is mixed, her mom was from Mexico and her dad is from Virginia.
> 
> [Trigger warning] Bruce's abuse will be discussed at the end of the chapter, but not graphically.

The TV was on in the background as Bruce scribbled away in a new notebook, his aunt walking out to leave us a plate of cookies. After we had convinced Daddy that I could stay Spring break with Bruce at his aunts, we hurried as fast as we could to get to her house before she got home from work. Bruce had told her aunt my name was Lizzie, and but if she saw me before I could change she would know I wasn't a girl. I kept the few clothes I could buy rolled up tight in a shoe box. I got a pair of embroidered jeans and a white blouse with ruffles, a blue fleece nightdress, and a printed, brown dress. Thankfully, we got to his aunt's in time for me to change into my jeans and sweater, and hide my boys clothes.

"¿Cómo está usted?" Bruce said with a nervous smile.

"You're getting a bit better." I laughed, looking over the notes in his book. "Are you sure you don't want me to teach you? A teacher is better than a textbook."

"Don't worry, I've got it." He nodded as he looked over his notes again, reaching for a cookie from the counter.

"Kids, do you want to go out for dinner?" His aunt called from the kitchen. "I still need to go grocery shopping so there's not much besides cereal."

"Sure, Aunt Carol." Bruce yelled back.

She walked out, her well manicured nails resting on her hips. She was in a blue blouse tucked into a pair of dark, navy, pleated work pants, her hair gently curled. If I didn't know better, I would think she and Bruce weren't related. She was blonde and short, extroverted and loud in her personality. Apparently, she was his father's half sister. His dad barely considered her family, but when he didn't want to deal with Bruce, she was the best sister in the world. It was pretty crappy, but she was fun. She had a bigger TV than Daddy, and let us stay up as late as we wanted.

"I need to get a few things organized and then we can go out. You two get cleaned up." As Carol headed towards the guest room, she smiled at us.

"I like it here." I said as I took a cookie.

Bruce nodded in agreement, smiling as he closed his notebook and pushed up his glasses. His eyes moved to the TV as we waited for Carol to come back out, reruns playing. Eventually we headed out, going to a small diner just outside of town. Nothing could beat a diner dinner, in my opinion. Once we were seated, the waitress came over to get our orders, three burgers and malt milkshakes. We laughed and joked until our orders got there, and we devoured out burgers. Carol laughed at how we finished our burgers so quickly, our fries and drinks left untouched until we finished.

"How is school going?" She asked as Bruce dipped his fries into his milkshake.

"Pretty good, I'm still getting good grades." He said as I gave him a look, the fries dripping milkshake onto his plate. "What?"

"Are you really going to eat that?" I motioned to the fries.

"Yeah, of course."

I stuck my tongue out as he laughed, eating his fries happily. It never made sense why he liked his fries like that.

"Oh, Lizzie is teaching me Spanish." Bruce said with a bright smile, looking up at his aunt.

"Really?" Carol smiled, turning her gaze to me.

"Well, I would, he insists on using textbooks."

"Yeah, but when we talk I get it better."

I blushed, smiling softly.

"Why are you teaching him Spanish?" Carol inquired, stirring her own milkshake.

I cleared my throat a bit, looking up at the older woman. "Well, Spanish was kind of like my first language, and since Mom passed I haven't had anyone to talk to and I don't want to forget." I admitted, smiling as I felt Bruce watch me.

Bruce showed off the small phrases he had learned, and the things he let me teach him. Eventually we got desert, and then headed home. Bruce and I got ready for bed before heading back out to the living room to catch a few more shows. After an hour, Carol made the executive decision that the TV was going off for the night. But as soon as we left the room we heard it turn back on. We talked for hours, eventually getting to bed and dozing off. I woke up several hours late, the bed quivering as I squinted at the clock. It was 2 AM. When I turned over, Bruce was curled up on the far other side of the bed. He shook as he curled tighter into himself. Bruce never let me see him like this, not in the five years we had known each other. Carefully, I placed a hand on his back. He visibly flinched before turning over, looking me in the eyes for a moment before letting me hold him close.

We stayed like that the rest of the night until he fell asleep.

* * *

That morning we woke to the smell of pancakes cooking. We got up and washed up, only speaking for Bruce to assure his well being to me. Soon after we got breakfast and helped with the dishes, Carol left for work and promised we would go out to have fun when she got back. Bruce returned to the bedroom for a while while I saw and watched the morning cartoons. It was almost an hour before Bruce returned, looking just as bad as when he had woken me up the night before.

"I... Can we talk?" I turned off the TV and turned to him, nodding.

As I listened, Bruce unloaded the past seven years of his life. The past seven years since his father snapped and started to abuse him and his mother. And the past six years since his father killed his mother. The past five years that his father became predictable and he learned to avoid him at the absolute worst for as much as he could. He unloaded the times he cried himself to sleep, or woke up in absolute terror, or had to stay home from school because his fathers rage left wounds where they couldn't be hidden.

By the end he was in tears again, trying to stay levelheaded to finish telling me everything. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, only making them more red and swollen. We sat together for a while, his head in my lap as he tried to calm down, not wanting to talk further until he could think clearly, his eyes glossing over slightly. I ran my fingers through his curls slowly, reassuring him I would help him get out. We sat together, silently taking in the moment.

That was the moment we realized we would be together forever. I leaned on him for support while I figured out who I was, what I was feeling, and what I could do next. Bruce leaned on me to listen and hold him when it hurt too much, to help him get out. That night, when Carol came home, he told her everything that happened. She couldn't believe it, and promised to keep him away from his father. We started getting ready to go tot he police, and made sure there was enough evidence to prove Bruce's story. His aunt got a Polaroid camera the next day to take pictures of his injuries before getting ready to petition for custody.


	4. Are We Out of the Woods?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1983, Bruce and Lizzie start their first year of high school as Lizzie's father comes to terms with her transition.

"No!" Bruce yelled out as he laughed, trying to hold the remote out of my reach. He held it above his head, leaning as far back on the couch as he could while I climbed over it to reach it.

"Come on! It's my turn!"

"Behave, children." Carol scolded as she walked out in her work suit, pinning up her hair. "I have an appointment with the lawyers today, when I get home we're going out for dinner. Think about where you want to go."

"Okay, Aunt Carol." The two of us said together, still grappling for the remote.

With a sigh and a chuckle, she was gone.

Eventually, I gave up on getting the remote and let Bruce put on whatever he wanted. We sat quietly together, the television playing in the background as we both felt ourselves going out of focus. I sat behind Bruce as he sat on the edge of the couch, resting my chin on his shoulder, my arms wrapping securely around his waist. After telling Carol about what his father had done to him last year, she was able to get temporary custody while a legal battle was being fought. Bruce was caught in the middle most of the time, but for now he was safe to get ready for a new school year with me. Despite now living in a new school district, we begged her to let him stay in our school system. After some work and sob stories, we got our wish.

"I love you, Lizzie." Bruce muttered, not looking at anything in particular.

"I love you, too, Bruce." I replied, laying my cheek against his shoulder. "Whatever you need to help get better, just let me know. You're my best friend..."

I heard him let out a puff of air, looking up to see a soft smile. For the first time in a while, he looked calm. There was less anxiety behind his eyes, but he still looked like he was going to run away at any moment. As he closed his eyes, I held on a little tighter. We sat like that for a while, me wrapped around him, and him trying to stay composed as his mind processed it all. He moved first, taking off his glasses and setting them down, turning around to hug me tightly.

"What about you?" He said, trying to deflect attention from his situation. "Has your dad come around to the changes?"

"Maybe... This isn't something we need to talk about." Bruce shook his head quickly and leaned back onto the couch.

"It's something we should be talking about, we should be talking about how we both need support." He smiled, his eyes focusing carefully as curls fell in his view. 

We shared a small laugh before silence took over again and we locked eyes.

"Okay... But only if you let me know what you need too."

Bruce laughed and held out his pinkie, like he did when we were younger, waiting for mine. We locked pinkies, sharing a smile.

"I promise we will talk and make sure both of us are happy and can help the other to the best of our abilities." He said and shook pinkies with me.

"I promise."

* * *

 It was just a month until school was going to start, and Daddy still wasn't coming around to me being a girl. He had stopped referring to me masculinly, but still called me by my birth name. He didn't freak out when I brought home girl's clothes, but he didn't take me to the girls section when we were at the store. But still, every time I brought up puberty and talking to a doctor about doing something about it, he shot me down faster than an enemy fighter pilot. Usually, I ended up just going to Bruce and crying about it for a while, during which Carol would talk about seeing what we could to do to try and change his mind. Once, she called him and started chastising him for rejecting his daughter. He hung up on that one.

"The nerve of him." Carol practically threw the phone on the receiver. "He thinks because he's so high and mighty he can treat people like this?"

"Well..." I started.

"Don't excuse him, he needs to get his head out of his ass and wake the hell up."

Bruce and I laughed, sitting on the living room floor.

"You two get ready for the school tour, okay? I'll drive you out soon."

With just a month left before we started high school, we had our freshman orientation and school tour. There, we would meet our classmates and instructors. It was exciting, and our first taste of growing up.

* * *

"Lizzie?" Bruce called out as I sat with my knees pulled up to my chest, sobs shaking my body. "Lizzie?!"

He ran to my side, behind the school bleachers, lifting my face to see the forming black eye and split lip. Honestly, that was the best of it, the rest of me felt broken and loose. During the tour, two guys called me out as a f*ggot and near the end of the tour dragged me out here. While they were kicking me down, I tried to fight back. That's where the black eye came from. Eventually, they got bored and left, but their work was done.

* * *

"Who the hell did this?!" Daddy held my face in his hands in the ER, trying not to let on that he was tearing up. "I'll kill the bastards!"

"Dad... Please..."

The nurse gave him a concerned look as she walked in, before starting to patch me up. She tried making small talk as she did, smiling when she finally got me to laugh. After the nurse was done, she turned to Daddy and commented on how he had a very strong son.

"No, I don't..." He looked over to me, a look of concern and worry on his face, but ultimately looked at peace. "I have a strong daughter."

 

 


	5. The Sun Came Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1988, Bruce and Elizabeth move from their now relatively calm lives to the intense buzz of college.

"University here we come!" I yelled out as I stretched outside the packed car.

Bruce laughed as he put a case of water in the back seat of the car. Daddy was standing in front of the garage, still hesitant of us road tripping our way to school. He was being ridiculous, it was going to be perfectly fine. Everything we needed was packed up, and Aunt Carol would be bringing the things we couldn't fit in Bruce's lame excuse for a car the next day. But we were totally fine. Just a few months earlier we had been walking our graduation, and now we were going to our top choice in state college. We worked our asses off to get in, and now we were enrolled for the physics program. And the last of the paperwork Daddy and I had to fill out had been filed before I had to resubmit my information to the school. I was officially Elizabeth Ross, no longer the immature high schooler Lizzie Ross. Now I could happily say I was a mature woman, ready to face the world with my best friend.

"You two keep an eye out for each other." Daddy said, giving us both stern looks. "I don't want to hear about you being involved in any kinds of accidents or anything."

"Don't worry, General." Bruce jokingly saluted, earning a strong look from Daddy.

"You're lucky I like you, son." The two shared a brief smile before I hopped over, giving him a tight hug.

"I'll keep him out of trouble, don't worry." I smiled and gave him a tight squeeze.

"Him? I was talking about you." Daddy said in a joking tone. "I swear it's like you have a magnet for trouble."

I pouted and let go of him, sticking out my tongue before walking back to the car as the guys laughed together.

"Alright, I'll let you two start the head out." Daddy smiled and walked over the the drivers side as Bruce opened the door, holding out his hand to shake. "You'll do good, both of you. Just put the work in."

"We will, sir." Bruce shook his hand, smiling.

"When you two graduate, top of your class, of course, there'll be a job waiting for both of you when you get back."

"Dad, you just don't want anyone else to get Bruce's brain." I sat in the passenger seat an buckled up.

"You can't blame me, he's got a good head on his shoulders." Bruce laughed a bit, his ears growing red from embarrassment. 

"Thank you, sir." He smiled as he got into the car. "We'll call when we get to campus, don't worry too much."

"Keep my little girl safe."

I stuck my tongue out at him as the car pulled out, Bruce still smiling. As Daddy had accepted and helped me more, while still making mistakes, he had come to understand me and Bruce more. He got that Bruce was the reason I made it as long as I did without something bad happening. This resulted in the two bonding, and Bruce getting a guaranteed job with the military once he was out of Uni. The car became quiet once we made it out of the base, the road opening up to us. It wasn't long before I couldn't take the quiet anymore and popped in a tape, leaning back in my seat and fiddling with the buckles of my overalls. Looking in the rear view mirror, I saw the mass amount of boxes and things stuffed back there, almost too much to be safe. But Bruce insisted it would be fine, less for Aunt Carol to bring up to us. That was the next several hours, quiet contemplation of boxes and tapes, switching everything around and making sure the music was always going and not too much to distract Bruce.

At about the seven hour mark, about six in the afternoon, we started to see the signs of college, and soon the campus was in sight. Students were everywhere, excitedly running to friends and helping people move into their dorm. It was an intense feeling of belonging as we parked, people moving into the dorms and greeting us. Bruce seemed a little more nervous, pulling out his boxes and heading into the dorm after tossing my an extra set of keys.

"I'll see you inside."

I smiled, stuffing the keys in my pocket and starting to pull out bags and boxes. As I got a good stack ready to go in, a box on top started to wobble a little too much. A girl hurried over, catching it as it tumbled down.

"Careful there-" She looked at the name on the box and smiled. "Elizabeth."

"Oh, thanks." I peeked around to look at her. "Uh, would you mind bringing that up to my dorm with me?"

"Course not." She followed me upstairs as Bruce came down to get another load of boxes, giving me a nervous look.

Once we got in, Bruce's things neatly stacked around his bed, I started sorting around what I had brought up. The girl set down the box and looked around.

"Double, you come with a roommate or assigned one?"

"I came with one, you saw him on the stairs, the one in the Hawaiian shirt." I stood and held out my hand to her. "Thanks for the help. Elizabeth Ross."

"Samantha Harber." She replied, shaking my hand. "So, that guy, he your boyfriend?"

"What?" I laughed a bit, shaking my head. "No, no, no, no. Bruce is practically my brother, we've been friends since we were little kids."

"Ah, I see." She smiled as Bruce walked back in with more boxes.

"Lizzie, you should call your dad. I can get the last of the boxes."

"Yeah, okay." Once he had set down the boxes and stood, he noticed Samantha. "Oh, uh, this is Samantha, she helped me bring some boxes up."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Bruce." He smiled as he walked over to shake her hand.

"It's a pleasure." Samantha looked him up and down as she shook his hand. "Are you guys from out of state?"

"Oh, no, we're born and raised here. Just, you know, seven hours away." I said, looking between the two.

"Uh, yeah." Bruce smiled as Samantha laughed.

"You guys don't really seem it, I guess it's just a diverse state."

I watched Bruce as he smiled dumbly, nodding slowly before I gave him a nudge. He seemed to come back to himself, causing Samantha to laugh.

"Well, I guess I should get to my own room. I'm just a floor down."

She left with a quick goodbye and then it was just us. Bruce still had that dumb look on his face as she left.

"I don't like her." I practically growled.

"What?" Bruce looked over, almost offended. "Why?"

"You won't get it."

I started down the hall towards the phones as Bruce followed.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

* * *

That night, I spent my time unpacking and reviewing the reading for our classes. We had all the same courses besides our elective for the semester. Bruce was taking an extra English class and I was taking an acting class. After breaking down another box, I started getting my vanity set up, all of my hair things in the left drawers, all of my makeup in the right drawers and counter top. My hormones went on the left counter top, neatly stacked and needles organized in a case. As I finished up, I heard the door open and Bruce walked in, smiling to himself.

"How was Samantha?"

"She's nice."

"Oh, nice?"

He gave me a look before turning red, trying to take back what he said.

"N-no, not like that! No, we were, we just talked, I mean."

I laughed, rolling my eyes and heading to my bed.

"You're too easy, Brucey. I know you're too shy to do anything when a woman wants you."

"Wait, she wanted me?"

I rolled my eyes, laying on my best and holding a stuffed dog to my chest.

"If it didn't happen yet it's not going to happen. She probably thought you weren't interested."

"Lizzie-"

"Bruce, we're in college now, this kind of stuff is going to happen. You need to get on top of it if you want to be with anyone in college."

He sat on his bed, giving me an odd look. It was almost like how he had looked at Samantha earlier, only more confused and unsure. I didn't give it any thought, merely throwing a pillow at him.

"Hey, stop that." He laughed a little, throwing the pillow back. "God, I didn't mean me you weirdo."

We laughed and ended up having a pillow fight as we called each other names, acting like a couple of kids. It ended in Bruce getting the upper hand and getting my weak spot, my ticklish sides. I wreathed and laughed as he tickled me mercilessly, not letting up until there was a knock on the door. Looking up, we saw Samantha and a couple other girls.

"Oh, hey." Bruce greeted.

"Hi." She smiled and looked over at me. "We're going out for drinks, want to come along?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not twenty-one." I said as I sat up, a bit confused. Samantha and her friends didn't look older than the two of us.

"Neither are we. Don't you have a fake ID?"

"Oh." I looked at Bruce before looking back and shaking my head. "I never needed one before."

"Hmm, I see. Well, see you around."

The girls left as I watched, suddenly feeling pretty stupid. I stood and closed the door, sitting at my vanity as Bruce sat up on my bed.

"I think I can see why you don't like her." He said quietly, watching me as I pulled my legs up onto the seat.

"She's not that bad... She's just... A rea-"

"Lizzie, don't say that." We locked eyes before he got up and walked over, kneeling in front of me and taking my hands. "You're as real of a woman as she is. If anything, you're even more of a real woman, you worked hard to be you."

I smiled a bit, looking down as I took a deep breath, my eyes stinging with tears. But she was more of a real woman, I knew it in my heart.

 


	6. The Night We Couldn't Quite Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Elizabeth find college to be more fun than they expected as they go to their first party.

"Hey, Betsy!" Samantha called from across the hall as I walked out of my dorm, wearing one of Bruce's tacky Hawaiian shirts.

"Oh, uh, hey." I smiled as I made my way over, carrying my book bag close. "Uh, can you not call me that? That's what everyone called my grandma."

"Totally. Anyways," She put an arm around my shoulder and walked with me, leaning close as she talked. "There's a party in the other dorm building for the freshies. You totally need to come. And bring Bruce. You guys won't get carded."

"Oh, that's really sweet of you to offer, but we have a lot of studying to do." I excused us, honestly not wanting to go to a college party so soon. It was still the first month of classes.

"Come on! There'll be lots of hotties there, and the seniors guys are always looking for some freshmen girls for their last year."

"I..."

"Great, I'll meet you downstairs tonight!"

Before I could protest again, she quickly pulled away from me, making her way back to her dorm. I stood there, unsure of what I was supposed to do. It wasn't like I was ready to see guys, and even if I was, most wouldn't like to be going at it with a girl and be greeted with a penis. But I couldn't tell Samantha that, she would tell everyone I was a freak.

"Hey, ready for class?" Bruce asked as he hurried over from the dorm, wearing a similar shirt to the one I had stolen.

* * *

"Are you sure you really want to go?" I asked, picking at my fries as Bruce scarfed down his burger.

We sat at a small table on the outskirts of the cafeteria, a burger special on either of our trays. Class had been exhausting, and our first lab was in a week. The party sounded fun, but probably wasn't a good idea.

"Totally, you said it yourself, we have to make an effort now." He smiled, a smudge of mustard at the corner of his mouth.

I rolled my eyes, reaching over to wipe it away with a napkin. Looking around, I realized we were the only people there, the rest seemed to be in class.

"Hey, um... Would you mind if I stuck with you during the party?" He gave me a confused look as I finally took a bite of my burger, chewing slowly. "I mean... If that's okay, I'm just a little worried about, you know..."

"Oh." He looked down a bit, finally getting I was nervous about people finding out about my unique situation. "Of course, that's perfectly fine." He looked up and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Is that my shirt?"

* * *

I stood in the mirror, looking over my outfit again and again. I knew a mini skirt was riskier, but I had to take my own advice and break out of my shell. I sat at the vanity and touched up my face, sighing as I looked back and saw Bruce with his nose in a book.

"We should go meet Samantha."

He set down the book and hopped up, smiling as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"Come on, you love parties." He said as we walked towards the stairs.

"Yeah, guess I'm just nervous." We went down a flight, stopping at the second floor before Bruce stopped me and turned me to face home.

"Elizabeth, you are going to be fine." He smiles, holding my by my shoulders. "You're the prettiest girl on campus, and you're going to be fine. If something goes wrong, or you really want to leave, come get me and we'll come back and crash."

"Thanks, Brucey." We shared a tight hug before turning down the stairs and saw Samantha and her group of friends waiting for us.

"Hey, guys!" She called out when she saw us.

Taking a deep breath, I smiled and walked over with Bruce, accepting Samantha's hug. She introduced us to several of her friends before we headed across campus to the other dorm. It seemed like everyone was going, students pouring out of our dorm and the various buildings after classes or studying and heading straight towards our destination. The party was being held in the men's dorm, directing across campus from the coed dorm we were in. Supposedly, it was the traditional freshmen welcome party, but from what Samantha said it was also the easiest way for the senior guys to get dump freshmen girls to hook up with. Knowing this, I knew to keep my guard up all night, and make sure to stick close to Bruce in case anything happened. He wasn't the toughest guy, but having a guy with me could be an advantage.

Samantha spent our walk talking about everyone she had met that was going to be there, all the cute guys that had invited her, and everyone she wanted to introduce us to. Tips and tricks of navigating the parties (which she claimed to have been going to since her high school years), and set up a code for all of us if we decided this wasn't fun and wanted out. Bruce and I already set up our own code. If one of us was uncomfortable and needed to leave, we would bring up calling home. If one of us was uncomfortable and needed both of us to leave, we were going to bring up our class reading. When we got to the party, it was in full swing, everyone was intensely into the music and booze were being passed around left and right. As we walked in, I already felt the stares of drunk guys on us. Samantha seemed to eat it up, becoming an exaggerated version of herself.

The party seemed to go by in a blur, the group we came in dispersing and socialized. By the end of the night, I had ended up finding some decent company. A senior boy in the same program as Bruce and I, a junior girl who was an art major, and Samantha who was all over the guy. We discussed our fields, and what we wanted to do after we graduate. Of course, I wasn't exactly sure if I was staying on Daddy's base, but that was were I was starting in R&D. The guy was impressed, but not surprised since it was a job from my father. He was going into the job market fresh after graduation, and hoped I could get him even an internship on base. I promised to talk to Daddy about it, but nothing was guaranteed.

"Hey, Lizzie." Bruce said, smiling as he headed over. "Ready to head out? Early class tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah."

I said goodbye and headed out with Bruce, laughing together about our night.

"She was drunk out of her mind and kept insisting I was her boyfriend, until her actual boyfriend showed up and he was twice my size!"

I laughed too hard, imagining someone mistaking Bruce's five foot eleven hundred and forty-five pound frame for a big beefy bodybuilder type of guy. It didn't seem like something possible.

"Wow, at least you came out unscathed!" I looped my arm around his, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I got a guy wanting a job on base once he found out Daddy got us jobs."

"Man. Is this what college is going to be like?"

"I think so."


	7. This Love Left A Permanent Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas break of 1988, Elizabeth and Bruce spend their time revisiting childhood favorites and getting ready for the new semester.

"Hey, you two!" Aunt Carol called out as Bruce got out of the car, waving to his aunt from the drive way.

After a seven hour car ride, three coffees, and the starting of snow, we were tired but excited. The semester had ended and we had a couple weeks to stay home and catch up with family. Bruce was mostly going to spend the time with his aunt, and maybe see other family. Daddy insisted I come home for Christmas, and see the whole family, who were all very touchy about my "condition" as they put it. Honestly, I wanted to stay here with Bruce and Carol, they were fun.

"Hey, Auntie." Bruce walked over as I pulled out our bags from the back, hugging her tightly. He was a little taller than her now, I hadn't realized how he was actually kinda tall. Like, a lot taller really. We hadn't been close to the same height since we were fifteen.

"And how are you, sweetie?" Aunt Carol came over and gave me a hug.

"I'm doing good, the semesters end lifted a load off my shoulders."

We laughed and headed inside, Bruce taking the bags from me and taking them to the room. Carol and I made our way to to the kitchen, a pot of hot chocolate on the stove. The house was pretty quiet, a lot different from the house I always associated her with. After they were able to get the conviction to stick to Bruce's father, they decided it was a good idea to move. Not far, just to a new neighborhood. It was closer, made high school easier. The best part was the kitchen, it was a lot bigger than the previous house that had an awesome living room but a closet for  a kitchen. As I sat at the breakfast bar, a cup appeared in front of me. Of course, I smiled, and took a sip. The exhaustion of the car ride and the whole semester finally set in during that sip, and I suddenly felt like sleeping for a week.

"So, how are you two?" Carol asked, sitting on the other side of the bar, leaning on her elbows as she sipped her own hot chocolate.

"We're good, he's adjusting a lot better than me surprisingly." I motioned down the hall to where Bruce was unpacking our bags in his old room. "He's made some good friends, already got his major and minor ready."

"Well, you'll adjust too, it takes time. And you've got some special circumstances." We nodded together for a moment. "So, you two settling into couple life well?"

I choked on my cocoa when I heard her question, taking a moment to try and get the hot drink out of my wind pipe.

"C-couple life?" I sputtered.

"Yeah. I mean... You two started dating, didn't you?" Carol furrowed her brow as he head tilted to the side. "You're sharing a dorm, and over break you're staying in his room too. He's always talking about you, complains about you stealing his stuff."

"No, no, no...! No!" I shook my head furiously, trying to process her evidence. We were just friends, like brother and sister. "God, no, not Bruce. No! He's... He's Bruce. He'll make someone very happy someday, but not me. No like that, I mean! He makes me happy, he's just... He's-"

"He's what?" Bruce asked as he walked out of the hall, kissing the top of Aunt Carol's head and getting his own cup of hot chocolate.

"Your aunt thinks we're a couple." I informed, still trying to process why she would think that.

Bruce is a great guy, and amazing guy, my best friend. The only person I could trust, to be honest. He spent most of his time making sure I'm okay and happy and healthy. Bruce will always make sure I've taken my medication and eaten before he goes out, he spent our childhoods trying to protect me from the second hand wrath of his father, he even spent his studying time learning Spanish so I would have someone to talk to with Mom being gone. He was an amazing guy... Maybe Carol had a point. But that point was meant for some other girl, Bruce was too much like a brother for me to feel that way towards him.

"Elizabeth and me?" He asked, leaning against the counter as he sipped his hot chocolate. "Really?"

"Am I the only one who sees it?" Carol shook her head as she stood, laughing. "Well, whatever you kids are, we're going out for dinner. Be ready in half an hour."

I groaned, slumping in my seat. After a seven hour car ride, going out was the last thing I wanted. But no one could say no to Carol, and no one could say no to good diner food. After she left, Bruce took her seat and chuckled to himself over the cup of cocoa.

"Are we missing something?" He asked, looking up at me.

"I don't think so, I thought we had that childhood friends kinda brother sister thing going on."

"I did too." We laughed a bit before sharing a gaze.

"Bruce... Don't you go falling in love with me."

"No promises, Lizzie."

* * *

Daddy met us at the diner, giving me a big hug and Bruce a firm handshake before we went inside. The snow was coming down now, frosting the streets. It would be gone by morning, snow never stuck around too long here.

"See, that's why I was so worried about you two getting a dorm together." Daddy exclaimed as our waitress left us with menus.

"Dad!"

"What?"

"Seriously," I gave him and Aunt Carol a confused and frustrated look. "We've been friends for nearly ten years, he's like my brother."

"Why would I date my little sister?" Bruce added, opening his menu.

"See now, I won't be surprised when the day comes around that you two eat those words." Aunt Carol raised a brow at us.

Rolling my eyes, I looked back at my menu and focused on food. After finally getting to the diner, the hunger hit me like a load of bricks. The most we had gotten today was some McDonald's for breakfast. Once the waitress came back, I got the biggest plate of fries I could with a burger and milkshake. We all made small talk, mostly about majors and how we were both going for physics. But Bruce was minoring in medicine while I was minoring in biochemistry. Eventually, our food got here and I began devouring my burger, taking small breaks to make a point of dip a fry in my milkshake. Bruce made a face every time I did, eventually threatening to take my milkshake if I dipped another. In protest, of course, I dipped another. Little did I know, he planned on following through with that threat, taking my milkshake and taking a long sip before putting it on the other side of himself. I swore in Spanish under my breath, earning a confused look from Daddy and Carol and a mean side eye from Bruce. Despite marrying a woman from Mexico and having a bilingual mixed child, Daddy never bothered to learn the language. He knew the basics to talk to mom when they first met, enough for casual conversation. He was beyond pissed when my first word wasn't English.

As the night went on, we eventually made our way back to Carols house and ended the night with more hot chocolate. Daddy talked about when he was stationed around the world, told the story of how he met my mother, and when I was born. It was nice, and eventually he headed off back home after making me promise to stay there for a while during break. Bruce and I stayed up after Carol, dipping into the spiked cocoa when we were sure she was asleep, turning on a Christmas movie.

"Happy holidays, everyone thinks we're a couple." Bruce joked as he took a sip from his mug, watching Rudolph on the screen.

"I still can't believe it. Did we bring this onto ourselves?"

Of course we did. We're two straight friends of different genders, it seems obvious to see us as a couple. We're super close and comfortable around each other. But Bruce isn't the kind of guy for me. He's handsome and sweet and everything, but he's been my best friend for so long.

"Well, there's more motive for us to start dating."

"What, like you and Samantha aren't already doing it?" I laughed, setting aside my empty mug.

"We, um... We aren't."

The room got quiet as the TV clicked off.

"But... You two are always together." I looked over, see Bruce chewing his lower lip.

"Yeah, I guess, but she's just okay." He shrugged. "And... God, this is embarrassing... I'm worried she'll make fun of me if I make a move."

"And why is that?"

"Because I've... I've never actually kissed anyone before."

"O-oh." I tried not to giggled, nodding slowly.

"I knew you would make fun of me!"

"I'm not!"

During high school, I had my first kiss on a dare with my lab partner. I thought Bruce had his when he was paired with his crush during a field trip. He never said anything, but they seemed closer after.

"Look, come here." He protested a moment before I leaned over, closing the gap between our lips. It was quick, barely more than a platonic peck, but it didn't feel like that. What I expected was a quick kiss that was there and gone, nothing more than giving my best friend his first kiss. But it felt like more. I knew it was quick, but it was... It felt like it went on forever, like my breath had disappeared. Like we were suddenly the only two people in the world. I didn't want to pull away, but things would be awkward if I didn't. "There." I tried to hide my obvious confusion as I pulled away. "You've had your first kiss, now you can go after Sam..."

We both sat there, the air thick and unsure. Whether it was the spiked cocoa or not, we weren't sure what to do next. Several minutes went by before I looked away, standing and smiling.

"See you in the morning."

"See ya..."

I walked into the hall, taking deep breaths as my fingers lifted to my lips. It wasn't long after that I heard Bruce get up, and he walked past me to the bedroom, the door open after him as he got into bed. Instead of following, getting into bed and either letting whatever could happen happen or pretend it didn't happen, I walked back to the living room, our mugs still on the coffee table. The couch was still warn as I sat, still trying to process why I had done that. Maybe we were wrong all along, but I didn't want to admit it. But as I curled up on the couch, falling asleep almost instantly, I did.


	8. Your Fears and Your Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth spends her break trying to process the results of her actions, and tries to figure out what Bruce is thinking.

The several days between kissing Bruce and accepting Daddy's invitation to stay at home for break were both calm and confusing. After the first morning of awkwardness, which Aunt Carol blamed herself and Daddy for, Bruce started acting like nothing had happened. After a certain point, I think I believed nothing happened. The first morning, Bruce only looked at me once. It was when Carol woke me up from breakfast and he came out of the bathroom. I was still on the couch, our mugs gone from the coffee table and a small throb at my temple. Carol made breakfast, scrambled eggs with sausage and bacon, before heading off to work with a promise of a family meal.

I sat quietly, pushing the eggs around my plate as Bruce sat across from me, eating his sausage and not much else. The quiet was only cut by the sound of the coffee machine dripping coffee into the pot, the constant stream keeping the silence at bay. Eventually, Bruce looked up at me, surprisingly not looking as angry or hurt as I expected. Initially, I figured he was hurt I took his first kiss without warning. That's an obvious one, or that he was feeling angry about it. Instead, he just looked off. Kind of like something didn't add up.

"Want to go to the library?" He asked.

"The library?" I finally let out a breath and laughed a little. "We're on break and you're wanting to do research already? We've got a while before that needs to be a priority."

"I know... We used to do it for fun."

"Oh, uh... Yeah, we did. I'm just... kinda tired of research right now. With the semester just ending."

He nodded, smiling before eating the rest of his breakfast and getting up to get a cup of coffee.

"You better eat, it's almost time for your injection."

 Honestly, I probably wouldn't remember any of my things without Bruce.

* * *

The day went on quietly, Bruce eventually ending up at the dining room table with a textbook and scribbling down little doodles and notes in the margins. He was completely zoned out, like he always was when he was doing "pre-semester studying" as he called it. Really, he was zoning out while he doodled and wrote random little things. Sometimes it would be little childlike statements in a messy scrawling, which he would cover up later with white out. After I commented on them once, he asked me not to acknowledge them ever again. Today he seemed extra out of it, his eyes not even looking focused behind his reading glasses, his pen furiously scratching at the page.

I got up from the couch, quietly making my way over and looking over his shoulder. Little stick figures were doodled around, playing sports and playing in a tree house. I couldn't help but smile. As he continued scribbling, I placed a hand on his shoulder. Bruce jerked hard, looking back with a shocked and almost fearful look. I retracted my hand and help both up, going back a step.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you." I said in a soft tone.

"I, uh..." He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "No, I'm sorry... Zoning..."

"It's okay." I sat with him and smiled gently.

"I wasn't scared." He stated in a harsh tone as I placed a hand on his arm, rubbing circles with my thumb.

"It's okay." He swallowed hard as he set his glasses on the table. "Is everything okay?"

He sat quietly for a minute and took deep breaths before pulling an envelope from under the textbook. The handwriting was familiar and messy, scrawling Bruce's name across the back.

"He sent a letter."

After a moment, it clicked. Bruce was never so out of it unless it had to do with his father.

"I don't want to read it... Can you... Um..."

"Take care of it?"

He nodded and pushed it closer to me. I wrapped an arm around him and gave a reassuring squeeze before taking the envelope and walking into the kitchen. After a minute, I located a lighter and walked towards the fire place in the living room. Bruce still sat quietly in his place, zoning out again. It hurt to see him like this, but it had to hurt more for him. He hadn't clammed up like this since the trial when we were kids. I turned my attention back to my task, lighting the corner of the envelope and placing it in the fire place. It burned up quickly, the ashes sitting in a pile. I moved back to my seat with Bruce, placing a hand over his and rubbing circles on the back of it.

"Thank you."

* * *

The next morning, Bruce spent most of his time in bed, barely reacting as I moved around the room, left him breakfast, and took the car keys. He was in a horrible place because of that letter. Apparently, Carol didn't even know that he got it. All she knew was that his father was trying to get his sentence reduced for good behavior, and thought if he tried to make amends it would look good. None of this was said to Bruce. Of course, something that would effect him so badly wouldn't have been brought up, he had to find out on his own. After Carol went to dinner, I took Bruce's car and my back up cash out to the park across town from the house. I wandered around a bit before finding what I was looking for. I made my way back to the house after that, finding Bruce in the bathroom with water dripping from his face.

"Hey, Brucey, I got you a treat." I smiled from the doorway, paper bag in hand.

"Treat?"

As he raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes tired and confused, I winked and headed out. After a minute, Bruce came out of the bathroom to find me on the couch, everything set up on the coffee table in front of me. Before me was a small baggie of weed I had bought off some high school kids at the park, a pipe I stole from Daddy a long time ago, a lighter, and some snacks.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?" Bruce asked hesitantly as he looked over the table.

"I'm helping you unwind." I said as I started packing the bowl, looking up at him. "You need help, so I'm giving you another option."

"Aunt Carol will freak, you know that, right?" He said as he sat next to me, watching as I brought the pipe up to my lips and lit the bowl, breathing in.

After a moment I blew out the smoke, smiling and holding it out to him.

"You know how to do it right?"

He hesitantly took the pipe and lighter, repeating my actions. As he blew out the smoke, his entire being seemed to let go a little.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I'm fucking sick of talking about it."

We sat a moment in silence, passing the pipe between each other before Bruce started coming out of his shell again. He started by going off, running his mouth about his father, how he was the scum of the earth and deserves to rot in hell. Eventually, he calmed down, we ate some, and ended up practically laying on top of each other as we watched TV. My head laid on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was calming, nice, reassuring. I thought back to the kiss, nervously looking up at him. The only real reason I didn't try again was what Daddy had said the other day about us eating out words and ending up together. Stubborn to the point of trying to stop this crush. Mom would be proud, I got it from her.

But even without that reason, Bruce and I have been friends for just over ten years at this point, he said it himself that I'm like his sister. We're more family than friends, and that's acceptable. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very frustrated with this chapter. I had written from breakfast to Betty burning the letter and forgot to save before I had to restart my computer. So that part isn't nearly as good as it had been initially, but it's basically the exact same.


	9. I Never Dreamed of This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1989, Bruce and Betty realize life isn't as safe and cozy as they thought it was growing up.

"Betty!" Bruce called from the car outside the dorm. "Betty, I swear to god if I have to come up there and get you!"

"You swear what?" I yelled out the window, my last bag in my hand.

Our last semester of the year had finished and the two of us were ready to go home again. The second semester had been even more killer, and a good summer vacation was exactly what we needed. All I could think of was sun bathing at home, getting darker to piss off Daddy. I hurried out of our room, turning for a minute to lock the door, and run down the door, right past Samantha Harber and almost knocking her over. Bruce sat in the drivers seat, ready to drive off as I jumped in and threw my bag in the back. The radio blared as we started off, ready to spend our next two months in perfect relaxation. One year done of our college experiance, finished almost flawlessly. And if we could predict anything for the next year, it was that we had smooth sailing from here on out.

"Alright, summer goals?" Bruce kept his eyes on the road as we slowed to a stop at the innersection, a while out from school.

"Tan, prep for the new year, have a summer fling."

"A fling? Really?"

"Not all of us are meant for something serious." I huffed, peeking over as he watched the light change from red to green.

We hadn't talked about the kiss for a long time, and it was almost like it was long forgotten to him. I figured it was the best to just play along, move on best I could, and pretend we're still just friends as usual. But I couldn't ignore the things I was feeling for much longer. Eventually, if it didn't go away, things would get awkward. More awkward than winter break. Maybe this summer would be a good time for us to work out what was going unsaid. The awkwardness, the blatent ignoring of the issues that were coming up, it was starting to get to be too much.

"Watch out!"

Before I could process what was happening, the car had begun spinning out of control, shoved out of the road by something bigger, throwing us around the car. The air bag burst out, knocking my head back against the head rest, and things became fuzzy. Bruce's arm was across my chest when the car stopped moving, bent at an odd angle from getting caught between me and the air bag. It was oddly quiet and still, the shock still forcing me into a dulled sensation. It was several moments before I was able to crack my eyes, a throbbing setting in the back of my head. Looking down, I saw Bruce's arm still blocking me, fragments of glass stuck in his skin. The screech of tires pulled me to attention, someone getting out and running to the car that hit us, asking the driver if they were okay. They didn't know, but began to panic when they saw our car. The person who stopped ran over, looking into my side of the car and trying to get us to respond. I looked over, locking eyes with him. My vision went fuzzy, making it hard to pay attention to him asking questions.

* * *

 

"Miss? Miss? Can you hear me?" Light passed over my eyes, causing me to squint.

"Who...?"

"My name is Dr. Cameron, you can call me Miranda." My vision focused on a tall woman standing at my bed, her dark hair tied up as she leaned over me, smiling. "It's good to see you awake. How do you feel?"

There was a pressure on my head like someone was squeezing me between two boards. The room was fairly dim, most light coming from the window. After a minute, I tried sitting up, helped up by Dr. Cameron readjusting the bed.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Ross?" She asked again.

"I, um... I'm..." I looked around, noticing I was in a single room. "Bruce... Where's Bruce?"

The doctor just asked how I was again, avoiding the question. Panic started to set in, I needed to see Bruce. I needed to know he was okay. He had to be okay. I kept asking Dr. Cameron where he was until she sighed, giving up on getting answers out of me. It took a couple minutes, but she helped me into a wheel chair, my casted leg up on a support. I held the IV post as she wheeled me into a room near by, pulling back the curtain to reveal Bruce. His head was wrapped with bandages, dotted with spots of blood. His right arm, that had been caught between me and the air bag, was covered in plaster, along with his shoulder and chest. The machines around him beeped in rhythm, tubes were sticking into his nose to help him breath.

Tears stung my eyes as I wheeled myself over to his bed as fast as I could, taking his hand and calling his name. He didn't respond. The doctor explained he had gotten the worst of it, but with close medical watch and time to heal, he would be fine. She followed by saying I should call our family to let them know what happened and where we are.

I did call Daddy and Aunt Carol eventually, but I didn't want to leave Bruce's side. They weren't sure when he would wake up, but they said he was stable.

The sun set eventually, leaving the room dark, illuminated by the faint glow of the machines. Eventually, I made my way onto the edge of his bed form the wheel chair, running my fingers through his curls. He looked calm for once now, and despite the reasons, I was glad to see it. For months, years, our whole lives, he had been on edge and ready to run at a moments notice.

"I guess I'll have to put off that summer fling." He would have laughed. "But we're going to get through this together, okay? I don't care if I have to push you around for the rest of our lives, you're waking up and we're finishing college, and you're going to fucking wake up." Tears started welling up in my eyes as his expression stayed stationary. "God damn it, Bruce... Why does it have to be you? I was so happy with what we had, and I messed it up. Bruce, I... I fucking love you. It sucks, but I really fell for you. You're my best friend, you're amazing, and I love you more than I could ever say. We've been protecting each other for most of our lives, and I can't see the future without you. Damn you, Bruce Banner, you're my everything." After a quiet moment, I laid next to him, closing my eyes and chuckling. "Look what this has done to me, I've turned into some cheese poet. Calling you my everything, it's the oldest line in the book."

And we laid there. Quiet, dark, hoping.


	10. Kaleidoscope of Loud Heartbeats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long week later, Bruce and Betty find themselves bonding in a new way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note: This awkward-ish chapter was me trying to introduce Bruce's DID a bit, not super confident in this chapter but I'm working through a block. Next chapters will be hopefully better as I get back into the swing of things.

Bruce sat with his broken arm in a sling, sipping his coffee slowly, Aunt Carol going on a worried rant as I walked in with Daddy. We had been out of the hospital for a good week, Bruce in a wheelchair for now and me in crutches. It didn't stop Carol and Daddy from being paranoid about us getting in trouble again. It came from a good place, but Daddy started talking about us transferring to a local college to finish our degrees to cut out the long commute during breaks.

"Hey," I called out as we came to the kitchen. "Is this a bad time?"

Interrupting her tangent, I haphazardly made my way to Carol and gave her a half hug.

"Oh, no, dear... No, it's not. Sit." She pulled out a chair next to Bruce for me and helped me down before getting Daddy a cup of coffee and talking about him taking us back to college at the end of the summer.

Bruce glanced at me, a soft smile on his lips as the two kept going on.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Yeah, there's been worse." His smile faded for a minute and nodded. "I think they need some time to talk it out, lets go."

"Go?"

I motioned with my head to his room as the adults kept talking quickly. After setting his coffee down, Bruce pushed his way from the table and used his extra crutch as almost an oar. Eventually he stopped in the living room, sighing and just getting up with the crutch, balancing with his one good arm holding it. With a sure smile, we began hobbling down the hall, eventually breaking into laughter and challenging each other to see who would get there first. With two crutches and two good arms, I managed to get through the door first, sitting at the desk chair and scooting over to the bed to put my leg up. A couple moments later, Bruce made his way inside and shut the door, the sound of the adults arguing over what would happen now still coming through.

"Do they not realize it's us who get final say?" He asked, slowly getting on the bed and leaning back as he put the crutch against the wall.

"They just care."

"Too much."

I frowned, looking at Bruce questioningly. Since leaving the hospital, he hadn't been himself. It was off and on, and probably just his having issues processing what happened, but it wasn't the easiest to deal with. It was selfish to think, but it was something that I kept thinking. We were both in the accident, we both needed help, we  _both_ were in the accident.

"Bets?" His eyes were set above him on the ceiling.

"Yeah?" I answered with a raised eyebrow, not used to the new nickname.

"You know how you suggested we practice kissing?"

My eyes got wide as he finished his question, nodding a bit and clearing my throat.

"Uh, not... not really, but... um... why?"

"Around Christmas you said something about it." He looked from the ceiling to me. "It wouldn't be bad if we tried, right? I mean, we're adults."

"I-I, um..."

As I tried to figure out what Bruce was up to with this sudden suggestion, Daddy called out for me to say goodbye, giving me an out. Pushing up with my crutches and hobbling out of the room, my mind focused on getting to Daddy, on chatting with Carol, trying to give Bruce time to figure out what the hell he was even saying. But it didn't even sound like Bruce. Even on a bad day, he sounded like he was thinking about everything. But his words now sounded empty and trivial. Completely unlike the Bruce I know and love.

"Sweetie, are you sure you want to stay? You're still welcome at my house." Dad tried to convince me to go back with him, not really getting I wanted to stay to spend time with my friend.

"I'm sure, Dad. Don't worry about me, you know I always do well staying here. It's my second home."

With a gentle nod and a kiss on my forehead, he left, leaving me and Aunt Carol in a quiet lull from the arguing they had been doing. After a moment and a smile, I headed back to Bruce, relieved to see him looking more himself, his eyes focused around the room as he analyzed his surroundings, smiling slightly at me. I smiled back, walking in as he asked what I left for. It was a bit awkward more on my part, Bruce almost seemed confused about it. But nevertheless, I tried to push back our previous conversation. The stress from the accident was making us both wig out, everything would be okay in the future.


	11. The Week That Came From Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1995, Bruce and Betty spend their week of graduation in a haze of transition and excitement.

"Woooo!" Bruce cheered as he slid down the stairway banister into the hall, heading straight to Samantha and I as we entered the dorm. "Betty, Betty! Your dad just called!"

"Bruce, save the excitement for the ceremony." I tried to scold him, stiffling a giggle as he wrapped his arms around Sam and I. "What did Daddy call about?"

"Only the best thing two physics grads could dream of?"

"A major that isn't lame?" Sam offered, smiling as Bruce stuck out his tongue.

"No, something we all want." He paused a moment, his dopey smile only getting bigger as he looked between the two of us. "Guaranteed jobs."

"No!" I pulled away, a smile growing on my own face. "You're kidding me! He did?!"

I squealed, hugging Bruce tight as he picked me up and spun. Once he set me down he did the same to Sam, dragging me up the stairs to the phone down the hall from our room. Before he could even reach for the phone I was on it, calling Daddy back to make sure Bruce wasn't pulling one on me. But he was right, Daddy had gotten up two jobs in R&D on base. Decent pay for a job straight out of college, enough for a two bedroom apartment with both paychecks, and resources to start our own research when we had the time. All we had to do was make it to graduation this weekend. The dorm was already halfway packed up, but we thought most of our accumulated crap would be going into storage while we lived at home for a while to get money saved up. But now we were going to move it all into an apartment. We had to get an apartment. We had jobs!

* * *

"Aunt Carol's got some kitchen stuff we can have." Bruce called out as he walked back into our half packed dorm. "She was going to put it all in a garage sale but said we're welcome to have it."

"What is it?" I asked, reaching for the checklist on my nightstand.

"A dish set, so plate and bowls and stuff, a silverware set that's missing some spoons, and a pot."

As he listed off the things, I checked it all off the list. After thrifting and getting graduation gifts, we had gotten most things we needed. There were some small things left but that didn't matter, we had basically everything to live comfortably in our new apartment. Daddy was going to drive us there after our graduation party and they would help us unpack and move in afterwards. And after we were settled in and comfy, he would take us to our new jobs. It was just one good thing after another. With three days to graduation, something to balance out the good stuff we kept getting.

"So, how was your college experience?" Bruce asked in a teasing tone as he flopped back into his bed.

"Oh, it was wonderful. My best friend was my roommate, I made friends with people I always thought I would have hated, and I had one hell of a college romance." Bruce laughed a bit, shaking his head.

"It was a hell of a something." He spat with a sneer.

"Leonard wasn't that bad." I tried to defend the man I spent two of our years here with.

"Wasn't that bad?" Bruce looked over, looking more offended and hurt than I had when the breakup happened. "That bastard wrecked you, and you should have let me wreck him!"

"Calm down, Brucey." He rolled his eyes, letting out a long, sharp breath. "Besides, two scrawny nerds going at it would be too hilarious."

"Hey!" He almost looked offended before seeing how much the thought made me laugh. A smile broke across his lips as he thought about it too. "Guess you're right, the two of us really would have looked ridiculous... You really can pick 'em, Lizzie."

"Yeah..." I took a breath as my laughter died down. "I really can."

* * *

"Places, places!" A professor in their own robes organized us all, making sure we were in order. Part of me wished it was like elementary school, letting us choose what order we graduated in so we could be with our friends. Bruce was basically in the front of the line while I was all the way in the back. It was just a matter of deep breaths at this point. Soon it would be the graduation party, and Bruce and I would spend our night with our friends saying goodbye before crashing with Sam at her new apartment. Then we would head out in the morning for home and our graduation party with family. And then we would be living the rest of our lives on base doing research for the military. Maybe we'd find someone to settle down with, and once again start the cycle of life for our future kids to go through this.

"Robert Bruce Banner." I heard the announcer say, and cheering from Aunt Carol in the audience. I clapped quietly, getting a look from the professor keeping us in order.

My heart raced harder as the line shortened. It would be a lie if I said things didn't get fuzzy for a while, black specks floating in my vision for a while before I realized I wasn't breathing. This was what we had worked up to, a walk across the stage to get a paper that gave us a future. It was scary, so fucking scary. Especially when I realized there were only a couple people ahead of me now. It was so close. So fucking close.

"Elizabeth Ross."

Like I was in auto-pilot, I stepped on stage, walking across the stage and taking my certificate. It was official. I was a graduate.

I was about to stumble off stage when a cheering pulled me back to my full senses. Bruce was standing from his seat, clapping with everyone else, and cheering loudly. Eventually Daddy joined in, causing a laugh across the auditorium. I waved shyly as I laughed, walking off stage and taking my seat, getting a big thumbs up from Bruce with his dorky grin. We did it.

* * *

Music blasted through the dorm building as people mingled and danced. Beer was passed around liberally, everyone (grad or not) had a cup to loosen up with and more to chase the first one. The last party of the year, celebrating another year of great work done and genius minds shipped out to the delight of the masses. After the ceremony had ended, Bruce and I couldn't stop gushing to Aunt Carol and Daddy about how happy we were until Samantha dragged us to the party. Our parting words with Carol and Daddy promising to meet them for breakfast before the move started tomorrow.

When we got to the party, it didn't take long for Sam to find her boy and separate from Bruce and I. We eventually separated too, saying goodbye to good friends and seeing unpleasant faces for the last time. I found myself outside eventually, conjugating with some old study friends at the back of the dorm.

"Say goodbye to Morrison's bias grading system." Becca said as she passed her cigarette right.

"Bye bye to crammin' last minute." I laughed, taking a drag and passing it on. "Hello independent research and the real world."

"Where's your boyfriend?" A tall blonde on Becca's arm asked, twirling a lock of long hair around her finger.

"Leonard? We've been split forever." And for good reasons.

"No, no, the cute brunette that was cheering for you."

"Bruce?" I couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, sipping more of my beer. "No, no, not my boyfriend. Best friend."

"Best friend?"

"Yes, since elementary school."

"Wow, usually opposite sex friends end up dating." She said, taking a long drag when the cigarette got back around the circle to her. "Is he gay?"

"No." A frustrated sigh left my lips. "We're just best friends, neither of us are gay, men and women can just be friends."

A hush fell over the group as I dropped my empty plastic cup to the ground and looked around at everyone. As Becca finished off the cigarette I opened my clutch and pulled out a mint tin, opening it and handing her a joint.

"Sorry. Graduation night, all is mended with a parting gift."

Becca and I shared a smile before she brought it to her lips and lit the end. We kept our talking circle for a while, laughing over memories from the years, before Bruce eventually made his way out and joined us. The blonde on Becca was excited to see him, telling him all about our conversation about him and asking if he for sure wasn't gay. He seemed awkward about it, but confirmed what I said. We ended up spending the rest of the night out there before Samantha, in the arms of her roommate, came out for us, lamenting about how she knew she would find us out here.

After being assured her roommate was sober and could drive us, we left the circle and headed to Sams car, piling into the cramped back. It was a surprisingly quiet ride, Bruce letting me lay my legs across his lap as I dozed off. We reached the apartment building, trying our hardest to be quiet the way up. Sam and the roommate headed to their respective rooms after the couch bed was taken out, blankets and pillows already waiting for us. Bruce kicked off his shoes and flopped down, closing his eyes as soon as his head hit the mattress. After finding a place to leave my purse and such, I joined, looking over at Bruce as he breathed deeply.

"Psst... Are you asleep?"

"Mmm..."

"Brucey?" I turned over on my side, using my arm as a pillow.

"I told you to stop calling me that..." He mumbled, turning over too and cracking his eyes open.

"I will when you stop calling me Lizzie." We shared a sleepy smile.

"What did you want?" He asked, opening his eyes fully and propping himself up on his elbow.

"Well, everyone's been sharing memories and talking about the future, but we haven't."

This received a heavy sigh before Bruce flopped back onto his back.

"God, Betty, can't this wait till morning?"

"We're moving in the morning. Or did you forget?"

There was a pause before he turned back over and looked in my eyes."

"Okay, what is it?"

"What was your favorite memory from college?"

It took him a moment, but eventually Bruce smiled, laughing as he nodded slowly to himself.

"When you got drunk the night before meeting Leonard." It was a night I remembered well. "You and Same had gone out to get a drink and have fun after midterms, I stayed back to finish for my last one. You had apparently been going on and on about how you couldn't get a boyfriend, and drowned your sorrow in the cheapest beer the bar offered. You then came back to the dorm, and kept knocking because you couldn't get the key out of your purse. The door was unlocked. But you were drunk out of your mind, you didn't even think of that." Bruce smiled softly as he looked at me. "You kept going on and on  _and on_  about how you just wanted someone cute and smart to date and experiment with. I tried to console you but you just walked in and passed out on my bed. The next morning, you went into class with a bitch of a headache and ended up meeting someone cute to date and experiment with until he turned out to be an asshole."

"Excuse you, he made himself out to be someone cute and worthy of me." I rolled my eyes, rolling onto my back and staring at the ceiling.

I remembered that night as well as someone drunk off their ass could. That wasn't how it went at all, that's just what Bruce told me the next morning, thinking I had blacked out. At the bar, Sam teased me about not dating anyone until I confessed my feelings towards Bruce. She got serious and told me to pursue it or get over him. And instead of deciding or talking it out, I kept drinking. Midterms ended for me and I needed it. When I got back to the dorm, Bruce let me back in and I decided to make my feelings known. This ended in a very drunk kiss, and a very sobering rejection on the note that we're childhood friends. After that, I ended up passed out on his bed, and Bruce decided it would be best for us if neither of us remembered it.

"So what about you?"

"Hmm?" I looked over, starting to feel sleepy.

"What was your favorite memory?" Bruce's face was illuminated by the streetlamps outside, premature worry lines etched into his forehead and between his brows.

"Moving in." He laughed, laying back and looking up at the ceiling.

"That was a lame answer."

"You're lame." He laughed again before the room grew quiet again. After a while, I could hear his heavy breaths as he dozed off. It was a lame answer, but I didn't want him to know that night was my favorite memory too.


	12. The Right Side of Rock Bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1997, Bruce and Betty have spent two years working on the military base and developing new weaponry with their colleagues, but it's time for them to start their own independent study.

The alarm kept buzzing in my ears, aggravating my throbbing head. Bruce was probably up already, always the good boy and up on time. At least since we started working here. After another minute, I turned off the buzzing clock and my feet hit the carpet. I headed straight to the bathroom, walking in and starting to brush my teeth as the shower ran behind me.

"Did you start the coffee pot?" I asked, spitting into the sink.

"Yeah, even used your fancy beans." The water stopped and Bruce stepped out, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around his waist. "You realize instant is just as good."

"You realize we can afford to not drink sewer water." I scooted a step aside to make room in front of the mirror.

"It's not sewer water, you're just pretentious."

"What's new?"

He laughed, squeezing tooth paste onto his brush as I rinsed my mouth and pulled my makeup bag out of the medicine cabinet. As I finished getting ready, Bruce hurried out and started getting breakfast ready, the countdown to work running down. I ended up grabbing my same slacks and button up I wore every other day, the throbbing in my head keeping me from really planning out anything else to wear. Bruce left a cup of coffee on the counter as he ran off the get dressed, toast with scramble waiting with it. A couple bites in and I needed an aspirin, following it with the cup of coffee.

"Work time!"

* * *

We hopped out of the car and made our way into the building, men in uniforms filing through the halls and taking up most of the walking space. Bruce pushed through, letting me hold onto his shoulder to keep close. It didn't clear out until we got to the elevator, scanning out ID's and heading down a couple levels. The throbbing in my head had died down a bit. It was going to be another day of meetings probably, considering we just finished another big project. It would be a lot of meetings until we got the next one.

The elevator stopped and we stepped out, heading towards the lab to wait for us all to get called together. I stopped short, watching as Daddy stood with another tall man in uniform, talking quietly until they saw us.

"Ah, Dr. Ross, Dr. Banner, we were waiting for you." He said, smiling and motioning for us to come over.

"I never realized how shy the lab rats are." The other man said.

Bruce looked at me, his jaw tense, before walking towards the men and opening the lab door.

"Well, why don't you join us to discuss... whatever it is you have for us." He offered a halfhearted smile and stood back to let them into the lab.

Daddy looked from him to me and stepped in, the taller man bowing his head slightly to me as he stepped in. I followed Bruce in and set my briefcase on the lab counter, eyes set on Daddy as I gave him a questioning look. He merely smiled and gave the other man a pat on the shoulder.

"This is Major Talbot, he's a fan of your work." He looked from me to the Major. "He wants to sponsor you two so you can start your own research. Two years out of your studies, it's a great opportunity."

"Sponsor...? So there's a catch." Bruce looked the Major up and down.

"Only catch is I'm the first to see your work." Talbot looked between the two of us with a polite smile. "And when your research is completed the military gets first use of your findings."

"This is sounding more like another project than independent research."

"Dr. Banner, I thought you would be excited to have a chance to do your won research." Daddy interjected, looking at Bruce as he clenched his fists behind his back. "Just because the military gets to see it first doesn't mean we're setting out our on one of our projects."

"If you two want to think it over," Talbot's eyes landed on me, a polite smile on his face, "I'd be happy to come back."

"That sounds great." I nodded, walking over to Bruce at the other table.

As the two left, I could feel Bruce stewing, frustrated by the two military men. One hand was holding the edge of the counter in a white knuckled grip, the other searching his lab coat pocket for a menthol candy. He pushed the candy out of it's wrapped and popped it in his mouth, giving it a minute before taking a deep breath.

"He really was a major meathead." I offered before going back to my briefcase and pulled out my notepad.

Bruce snorted, chuckled as he sat across from me, shaking his head.

"So, forget Major Meathead, and we'll go on our merry way with his money to further our understandings of the world."

"Sounds good to me." He smiled, pushing the candy around his mouth with his tongue.

* * *

"I swear to god, if that's Chinese again I'm holding an intervention." I sat in my sweats on the couch as Bruce walked from the door back to the living room, my show playing on the TV across the room.

"It's pizza, don't worry." He sat down, opening the box on the coffee table to reveal a steaming pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni.

"Yummy." 

 Bruce sat back as he ate his first slice, watching the TV as I scribbled madly at the notepad on my knee. I could feel his eyes on me after a moment, looking up momentarily to see he was in face watching me.

"Didn't we make an unbreaking vow when we moved in here to keep work at work?" He raised at eyebrow, pushing the pizza box closer to my side.

"Yeah, but this is different." I pushed the box back. "I'm sorry, but Daddy brought this guy to us specifically and even if it's just sponsorship, he holds the key to us getting to something bigger than the military."

"What's bigger than the military?"

"I don't know. Stark Industries?"

"Betty, be realistic." He set down his slice on the lid of the box. "We're probably going to be stuck here at the military, it's the best place of us, and it's the only place that's going to take people like us."

"People like us?" I sat up, looking him over. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Betty..."

"No, what does it mean?"

"It means we're not the kind of people that get ahead." The words seemed to cause him pain to say. "We've both been broke and put back together, but it's so easy for us to break again. We aren't the type to go farther than this. We won't be groundbreaking scientists that cure cancer or discover life on other planets."

"Just because we're broken doesn't mean we break again. It's called getting stronger."

I grabbed a slice of pizza before standing and walking to my room, sitting at my desk and taking a bite before going over the notes again, writing and rewriting until I couldn't keep my eyes open.


	13. The Other Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1999, Bruce and Betty have been painstakingly working on their gamma ray experiments under the funding of Major Talbot. After finally scratching the surface and getting what they needed, they were prompted to turn the research towards weaponizing what they had found. Under the pressure, they caved and began developing techniques to concentrate and contain the radiation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I am a film major who has failed science multiple times, I have no clue how science works so I'm just going to bullshit this as well as I can. I read like a small portion of a Wikipedia article on irl gamma rays, so I'll base this on the small amount I know.  
> Enjoy

Bruce sat quietly at the breakfast table as he read the paper, taking spoonfuls of sugary cereal into his mouth. I leaned against the counter, still in my pajama shorts and tee shirt. It was our first time off in a long time, quietly contemplating the progress we had made in the past years. It wasn't a whole lot, but it wasn't nothing either. In those two years, the two of us had found how to synthesize gamma radiation and controlling the radioactive decay long enough to be sustainable. It honestly wasn't much, and because of that we didn't really want to oblige when Glenn demanded we turn our research towards the military's needs. Bombs, guns, anything that could be used against the enemy. Just in case.

At this point, we had been working for almost a year and a half, and just that one breakthrough took so much out of us. I swear Bruce started growing a couple grey hairs. It wasn't another five months of attempting to recreate our research before Daddy demanded we take our vacation days. This left us with several weeks to stay at home, away from the lab, all our notes left back with the rest of our things. After so long of almost constant work, we weren't sure what to do. Some days we just watched TV, other days we went out and got dinner and a movie, but it was all so different.

"What's up with you?" Bruce asked, carrying his bowl into the sink and rinsing out the left over milk.

"What?"

"You're thinking about the lab again." He leaned next to me, smiling as he sipped his coffee.

My confusion dropped, a small smile coming across my lips. "You caught me."

"Knew it."

"It's just, if Daddy let us continue we could possibly be done by now. Or at last have hit a major break through. Bigger than the last." I sighed, taking a long drink of coffee. "We could have cured cancer by now if we weren't on vacation."

"You think gamma rays are the path to curing cancer?" He laughed, shaking his head. "More like creating monsters."

"Are you calling Glenn and Daddy monsters?" I watched his expression over my coffee cup.

"Glenn? When did you two get on a first name basis?"

"He's our superior, we shouldn't call him Major Meathead anymore."

"Hey, you came up with that one. Besides," he set down his own coffee cup, looking me over, "Major Talbot would do just as fine. Glenn?"

"It's nothing."

I rolled my eyes, leaving the room and Bruce.

* * *

"When can we get these out?" Glenn asked as he handled the prototype of the blasters. It was a large, bulky thing int he vague shape of a gun. It took all of the Major's reach to hold it stably, the large barrel housing the miniature radiation chamber. A window on the side showed the faint, green sheen the radiation gave off.

"Well, first we have to make sure it can work, and then we have to fine tune it to reduce the radiation that would leak into the soldier when active, and after that we obviously have to make it easier to use." I went over the file notes, looking up as Glenn pointed it at the wall, his biceps twitching as he tried to keep hold. "I mean, the thing is almost as big as you!"

"Well, more reason for the enemy to be intimidated." He laughed, carefully putting the blaster back on it's stand on a cart. "Intimidation is half the battle."

"And the other half is biological warfare." I said under my breath, looking down at the file.

"So, where's the other lab rat?"

On que, Bruce came in, dressed head to toe in radiation protection gear. It crinkled and squeaked with every step as he walked to the cart, smiling.

"Alright, lets get this presentation done and maybe we can get back to our research." He was severely muffled from inside the tent of protective plastic.

And with that, the three of us headed out the door. Bruce headed the opposite way of us, going to the control room where he would demonstrate the tech. Glenn and I headed to the observation deck where Daddy and his bosses waited, looking forward to what they could do with our technology. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt about it and the more worried I became. They wanted this for warfare, to eradicate whole armies. Something just didn't sit well.

"Welcome, Doctor. Major." Daddy greeted as the two of us entered the room, a thick window before him and three men dressed in their uniforms.

"Alright, Ross, you got us here. What do you have to show us?" The shortest of the men asked, or more accurately demanded, of my father.

"Gentlemen, I think Dr. Ross would be a better one to explain that." Daddy answered with a chuckle, gesturing over to me.

The men looked over me for a minute. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bruce enter the room and begin setting up the target across from the window.

"Thank you, General." I nodded to Daddy and looked at his higher ups. "Today, Dr. Banner and I have a great development to share with you. Thanks to the generosity of Major Talbot, we have managed to find a simple way to concentrate and control gamma radiation in a way that can be used to easily end wars."

"End wars? What is this, a peace bomb?" A pudgy, mustached man scoffed.

"Even better. With a weapon as effective as this, no one will want to start a war against us or our allies." I looked out the window to Bruce and nodded, looking quickly down to a remote receiver to the radiation detector on the other side of the glass.

Bruce heaved the end of the blaster over his shoulder, aiming across at the target. Within moments, a great green beam launched towards the target, completely obliterating it into dust spread across the floor. The men watched in a stunned manner as the receiver in my hand went off the charts. Bruce was right, we had a lot of work left to do.

"Well then, when can we get it?"

"We have a lot of work left." I stated flatly. "As of now, use on the field would result both sides being adversely effected by the radiation. Let us get the radiation that would hurt our soldiers to the absolute minimum and you can have them then."

"We'll expect them in production by the end of the year."

Before I could protest, the three left, each congratulating Daddy as he followed. Bruce turned and smiled at me, giving me a big thumbs up. The receiver was still going off the charts as the radiation settled. Eventually the chatter calmed, the blaster being secured into place. I let out a heavy sigh, leaning my back against the window.

"You did good." Glenn stood in front of me, a smile on his lips.

"Thanks. But it's mostly Bruce. I found the key that got us into this, but Bruce paved the way." I looked up, jumping as I realized Glenn was a lot closer.

"But that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for your genius."

I was about to protest when a loud crash followed by an ear splitting blast. Green illuminated the room as I was pushed against the vibrating glass, the receiver rang out so loud the speaker began to crackle. After a moment, it registered in my mind what just happened.

"Bruce... Bruce!" I ran from the room, Glenn calling out as he followed. But I ran as fast as my legs could carry me down the halls, an alarm sounding as yellow, rubber suits ran towards the room. "Bruce! Bruce!"

All that came out was his name, fear running through my veins as tears stung and ran down my cheeks. Glenn caught up before I pushed past the yellow suits inside, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling back. It wasn't long before the halls were barricaded, the teams working on cleaning up from the explosion. I fought against Glenn's hold until the medical team arrived, bringing Bruce out on a stretcher. Parts of the yellow, rubber suit had degraded, the exposed skin bright red like he had been sunburned, the outlines of blisters visible from where I was.

"Bruce!"

* * *

Daddy had a guard posted outside Bruce's room for several days as he was touch and go, keeping me from seeing him in the state he was. According to the medics, he was going to be fine for someone who was at the center of a radioactive explosion. But I still wasn't allowed to see him. Those days were spent in the lab, looking through the files. What caused the explosion? Was there something faulty in the blaster? Nothing was adding up or making sense.

"Elizabeth." I looked up from the file to see Daddy, his eyes dark as he watched me. "When was the last time you went home?"

"A couple days ago. I won't go until I find out what went wrong."

"Sweetie, this isn't the time to throw yourself into work." He sighed, walking over. "I got a notice today, the production is going to be put off until you deem them safe."

"Production...? You think this is about the blasters?" My jaw clenched as I threw the file aside. "Bruce might die because we made a mistake! We overlooked something and it caused this damn accident and now-"

"Please, calm down." Daddy stepped closer, holding out a hand. "Will seeing him help?"


	14. All The Things I've Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been several days since Betty has been allowed to see Bruce, and his condition is becoming better at a surprisingly rapid rate. Things are looking great, despite funding for the project being lost. The two are just happy to have each other.

The slow beeps of the heart monitor had lulled me to sleep what felt like hours ago. The exact time I fell asleep was fuzzy, but Bruce had been awake for sure then. I had to have passed out in the chair next to him, then. But sleep in a tricky thing, once it's got you, it rarely likes to let go. It was too comfy, all curled up in my lab coat. The beeping slowly pulled me back out of the sleep it had pulled me into before, getting louder the more I awake I became. Finally opening my eyes, I took a look around. Bruce, nearly recovered from the accident, sat patiently reading some of the things I brought him, his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. The bandages from the worst wounds had come off, leaving oddly faint scarring. Bruce had always been a quick healer, but he had sustained some nasty injuries from being thrown across the room. 

I slowly sat up right in my seat, pulling my lab coat around me like a blanket.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Bruce teased, closing his book.

"How long was I out?"

"Maybe an hour." He set the book on the side table beside his hospital bed and folded up his glasses. "You missed the nurse. You should help me get out of here tomorrow, there's a lot of work we've missed."

"Well, it's about time." I leaned closer and smiled. "You're starting to get lazy."

"Says the woman who left her work to nap in a clinic room."

"You're so full of it."

* * *

"Pizza will be here in an hour, you settling back in good?" I leaned against the door frame leading to Bruce's room.

He was sitting on his bed, wearing a set of grey sweats. After a week, his room had collected dust. I meant to clean before he got back in, but ended up staying the last night over with him. The small clinic on base probably wasn't best for more than training injuries and probably broken bones. But Bruce healed up even better than expected. Most of the tests came back good, so until further notice he was out on a week of sick leave. The longer he got to heal, the better the end results would be.

"Thanks, Lizzie." He nodded, smiling softly.

"You okay?" My head fell softly against the door frame as I watched him staring at his hands. "Maybe you should talk to someone about what happened."

"I'm not seeing a psy-"

"I mean a therapist, a friend- hell, even me- to talk about what's going on in there." He sighed as I made my way over, sitting on the bed and rubbing his back. "Our project was faulty, and you got the brunt of it."

"It wasn't... Nevermind."

"Bruce, please."

"Betty, can you please give me some space?" His eyes were glued to the floor.

As his frame stiffened, I drew back my hand, nodding slowly. He didn't react to me getting up or leaving, quietly closing the door and waiting a moment. From the base to home, something had changed in the way he carried himself and talked. It was like someone else had taken my Bruce's place. Someone who blamed himself for everything wrong.

Stepping out of the room, a knocking came at the door down the hall. I headed over, cash in hand, opening the door to see Glenn. In his hands, the pizza box, on his face, a smirk.

"Hey there, doc."

"You aren't the pizza guy."

He chuckled, stepping past me and towards the kitchen.

"He was walking up at the same time as me. Figured I'd surprise you." He set the box on the counter and flipped it open before turning towards me. "What?"

"Glenn, this isn't a good time."

"It's a perfect time. The apartment is all ours, things have calmed down." Glenn walked over, wrapping his arms around my hips and pulling me close.

"Glenn, we need to talk."

"There's plenty of time to talk." I turned my head as he leaned in to kiss me, swallowing hard.

"I'm serious."

With a heavy sigh, he stepped away, letting me go. He liked his lips as he looked me over, shaking his head slowly.

"Bruce is almost out of the clinic, everything's fine, why are you being like this?"

"First of all, Bruce  _is_ out of the hospital. And I'm not going to hook up with you while he's here."

"Okay. What else is up?"

"We need to break up."

Glenn's face was set, processing my words carefully. He ran a hand over his face and breathed heavily. After a couple minutes of silence, just us standing there, he finally took a deep breath as he shook his head.

"You're kidding." His voice was deep and frustrated. "Elizabeth, are you really going to throw away the last year? Over your fucking roommate?"

With each word, his voice grew in volume. My eyes flicked towards Bruce's room. If he wasn't asleep he could probably hear us. If Glenn got louder, he'd wake him up.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You have to be kidding, you have to be messed up to think anyone else would put up with this stupidity like I did!" The louder he got, the more I wanted him to leave. "You're thirty years old, who else would date a bitch as old as you?! Especially with how co-dependent you are with that fucked in the brain scie-"

"Shut up!" He went quiet, looking at me in annoyance. "Just shut up! I've had to learn to put up with assholes like you my whole like, you sure as fucking hell know that. I've put up with far worse verbal abuse from men as selfish as you, who took advantage of who I am, what I am, to think you could hold something over me! And yeah, Bruce and I can be co-dependent sometimes, but that's because people like you forced us to learn to be. I won't let you talk about him like that. And really, if you think he's fucked, you don't realize the mess you got into dating me. Because the two of us are just as bad as each other." I shoved the pizza money into Glenn's chest, my face red with rage. "Get the fuck out of my home. I'm not going to let someone as toxic as you rule over me anymore."

Glenn stood there, staring me down. Instead of the brave, resourceful man I had grown close to, I saw every other person that had stood before Bruce and I. The teachers, and students, the parents, and lovers. Everyone that had brought us to this moment. To Bruce flipping between happy and hopeful to barely holding it together. To me fearing every moment I step out the door that someone will know I'm different and come after me because of it. To the fear that we won't always be together because at this point, we can't survive alone.

It wasn't until this moment I realized what was happening.

* * *

"You're really sticking to this?" Dad asked as I packed up the notebooks and files around my desk.

"Of course."

"You know, Talbot just requested transfer."

"Good for him."

The box was almost full as I moved over to Bruce's things, looking around for an extra thing to carry our things out in.

"Elizabeth... Will you slow down?" He stepped closer in from the doorway, hands folded behind his back. "You're being rash, think this through."

"Why is everyone second guessing me?"

"Because you don't know what you're doing."

The box dropped on the next desk with a thud, papers fluttering up before resting back onto the surface. Dad barely broke focus on me as I took a deep breath.

"What did you tell me when mom got sick?"

His eyes moved to the floor suddenly, lips pursed.

"What did you tell me?"

Silence.

"You said, 'when you grow up, sometimes people will try and tell you what you're doing is wrong. That it'll just fail in the end. That's what everyone said when I married your mom.' Remember?" He barely nodded. "You said it was worth it. Watching your wife get sick and maybe not make it was worth it because for ten years, you were happy. You were so happy, and you had me as proof."

"This isn't the same."

"It is."

There was a spare box across the room, perfect to fit the last of the files. My heels clicked loudly in the otherwise quiet room, white linoleum shining.

"We're done here. After what happened, there's no chance of return." Each file fit snugly against each other. "Bruce and I are leaving. Together."

This got more of a reaction from Dad. He let out a long breath through his nose, jaw clenched as his eyes remained calm.

"We have to move on."

* * *

"Bruce?" I pushed into the apartment, boxes stacked on top of each other and slipping slowly from my grasp.

Quickly, I hurried them to the tabled and turned back to the door, closing and locking it. The place was quiet, Bruce was probably still asleep. The keys clanked loudly as I dropped them on the table, slipping out of the loud heels and dropping my purse and jacket next to the boxes. The silence was slowly growing more worrying as it carried on, but that could have come from my nerves.

"Hey, Brucey, get your butt up." I headed towards his room, but quickly stopped. Something had changed in the apartment. It wasn't obvious, it was subtle. Subtle enough that it could easily be paranoia. "Bruce...?"

Looking around, things were organized and sorted methodically, everything in it's exact right place. Things were far too clean. Making my way further down the hall, the truth became obvious.

Opening the door to Bruce's room, I took a careful step in, an envelope on his neatly made bed catching my eye as tears began to well up. I tried to make it closer, but my legs gave out, sending me down as the empty room overtook me.

Bruce left the apartment, and me.

 

 


	15. So Many Sleepless Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Years Eve 1999, after trying to get all the information on the misconduct and weaponizing of their research, Betty tries to bring her results to the brightest minds in the scientific field.

At the stroke of 10:30, the halls were filled chatter and older men walking from one room into the hall or another room. I pushed through the crowd, eyes scanning for my target. After months, all the research Bruce and I took part in and enough evidence to prove the military was promoting unsafe research practice behind a doubt had been collected in my file. There was one man who could help, one of the brightest minds in the scientific field for decades. He was connected to the American government agency that took part in the Captain America experiments. If anyone could get the word out and make people believe me, it was him. And he was here at this conference.

It took a lot of penny scraping, and convincing dad that I wasn't out to find Bruce, to get to Switzerland for this meeting of the minds, but eventually I had enough for the plane tickets and a room in a lousy little motel far from the conference center. But it would be all worth it to get the word out. Everything I needed to get this done was about to happen. File in hand, I pushed through the men to see the man of the hour. The only oppertunity to talk to him was before the big speech he was scheduled to give, advertised as his last open discussion on his work in particle physics, and after those two hours he would be dust in the wind.

As the crowd began to thin, a posse of scholars and a couple men in black suits with ear pieces became visible. Among the group, the man I was looking for walked, his face set stern and as unmoving as stone. Dr. Henry Pym. I pushed faster through the men before running in front of the group, one of the black suit men reaching out to push me aside.

"Dr. Pym, my name is Dr. Eliz-"

"Out of the way, ma'am." I pushed his hand off me, the group growing to a halt.

"My name is Dr. Elizabeth Ross, I worked for the US military and have evidence of the production of nuclear weaponry."

Pym looked me over, eyes falling on the file held out to him. Silently, he took the file and opened it, flipping through a couple pages. The anxiety welled up in my belly as he closed the file, holding it out for me.

"Ms. Ross-"

"It's Dr. Ross."

"Ms. Ross, it is wonderful to see young minds entering the scientific field. I don't know what you feel you'll get out of this, but presenting this science fiction at a scholarly meeting is only proving further why women should stay out of the lab."

One of the black suited men shoved me out of the way as shock over took me. The one man that could help had just dismissed our findings as science fiction. The man that worked with a shady government agency and only eve presented a fraction of his findings to the public. The ringing in my ears quieted as the hall emptied, and a slow clapping grew louder as a smug looking man in a well tailored suit approached. Anger began bubbling up as he stopped to my left, chuckling.

"What?" I snapped, eyes glowing as I turned to him.

"It must blow to have your work called out as a farce by such a visionary scientist."

"And why is that any of your business?" I snarled and pushed past him, heading out to the exit.

The cold, winter air hit me hard, the long walk to the motel only made worse now by the fresh flakes of snow falling. The city bustled around me, people passing left and right, making me look out of place as they were all bundled in their winter best. My fingers nearly froze around the thick file. Twenty minutes of walking later, and the motel was finally in sight, sitting next to a rustic pub the manager said had good food. With a heavy sigh, the trek continued. Had I been paying attention, the woman walking towards me would have looked suspicious. The roads had cleared out, and we were the only people on the street. She was walking a bit too close, considering how isolated it became. And then in an instant, the woman pushed passed me, the file slipping from my fingers and tumbling down. Before I could reach down to grab it, the woman did, and began to run, ducking into an ally just feet away.

"Hey!" I screamed, running as fast as a woman in heels in snow can. But by the time I entered the ally, there was no one in sight.

The last of my hope drained away, the final straw on the camels back. First I lost my best friend and first love, then after all this work the one person that could help called me a quack, and now the file was stolen by some stranger in Switzerland. All there was left to do was give up. Give up on Bruce, and any hope of continuing my pursuits as a scientist. The snow didn't feel as cold now, pushing into the pub and slumping down in the nearest booth. A woman came out to ask what I'd like to eat, and disappeared as quickly as she had come.

The plane was tomorrow afternoon, and then I would need to take dad's offer to go back to military research. There was no way I could get a job in my field otherwise. Everything that happened would get swept under the rug after all.

Suddenly pulled from my thoughts, the bartender placed a glass of red wine in front of me.

"Oh, I didn't order this." I said, looking up.

"Vell, dat man over der sure vanted you to have it." He said, smiling kindly as he motioned to a man at the bar.

Glass in hand, I walked towards him. He was stocky, black, and in a dark turtleneck sweater. His hair was cropped close, a small peppering of grey through out. He didn't turn as I sat next to him, setting down the glass.

"Thank you for the drink. I hope this isn't your attempt at picking up tourists."

"Not at all, Dr. Ross." He turned to look at me, a patch covering his left eye.

"How do-"

"It's my job." He took a sip from his beer, the bartender happily cleaning glasses just feet away. "You've been getting a lot of attention lately. If you aren't careful, you'll attract the wrong kind."

My heart beat hard. This man knows who I am, and obviously isn't afraid to try and intimidate people.

"What do you want?"

"This isn't about what I want, it's about what you want." He slide a file across the counter as the waitress from before placed a steaming plate next to me. "Take a look. We'll be in touch."

And with that, he stood, and paid the bartender. The two behind the counter simply smiled and motioned for me to eat up.

* * *

The file was filed with reports, articles, and pictures of Bruce. Or at least, it said it was. The articles described a monster that would rampage through the country side in several cities, and the pictures were of a giant, green humanoid. Despite everything, it did resemble Bruce. But it couldn't be. Bruce wasn't eight to ten feet tall, he wasn't a rage filled beast, he wasn't green. Apparently, an agent assigned to watch him had witnessed the beast stumble away into the woods after a rampage and painfully shrink into the normal for of Bruce Banner.

He was last seen in Moscow.

In the back of the file was a card. Simple, white, a number printed on it. Grabbing the phone, I punched in the number and listened to the rings. Eventually, someone picked up.

"Did you enjoy the read?"

 


End file.
